Cheated at Birth: The battle between street families and child traffickers in Nakuru city
Joyce Nyanjama, a street mother whose child was stolen but she was able to recover the child.
In 2017, Joyce Nyanjama, now 24 years, found herself in the streets of Nakuru after being chased out by her uncle upon getting pregnant.
“My uncle wanted me to procure an abortion, something I was against. At the time, my only option was to leave home and live on the streets,” Ms Joyce recalls.
Joyce says she delivered her child and a few years later got a second child. In 2021, however, a woman who was known to her in her past life approached her.
Surprisingly, Joyce says the woman wanted her to give out one of her children.
“Her reason, she said, was because her child had gone missing when she was two years old. She therefore wanted to replace that child with my own,” Joyce narrates.
Realizing the desperation that the woman had, Joyce says she turned down the tempting offer insisting that she was not interested in giving away the child.
“The next day, on my way to Nakuru level five hospital, I met the woman. We had a brief conversation about her request again and I reiterated that I did not want to give away my child. Seeming to agree, the woman gave me Sh 1,000 and told me to go buy milk and bread for the child. She opted to hold the child for me as I rushed to the shop.”
When the 24 year old returned, both the child and the woman were gone; the only thing that was left behind was the baby’s clothes.
“Distraught, I called our chairlady and chairman in town and reported the incident, leading to the woman’s arrest and getting my child back again,” Joyce states.
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In a shocking turn of events, Joyce says the woman, upon reaching the police station, accused her of stealing her child at the time of birth.
“The officers sadly believed the woman and arrested me. I bravely stayed in Kaptembwo police station, sleeping alongside my child.”
The twists continued when the authorities, seeking the truth, decided to take the mysterious woman claiming to be the mother to the hospital early in the morning for a conclusive identification.
“The following day which was on Saturday came. In the evening, my justice prevailed and I was released still holding my baby tight, after enduring a day of anguish and uncertainty.”
Joyce expresses that that day still remains as her worst nightmare.
According to the chairlady Judy Wanjiru, delivery and raising of the children for the street mothers is a big challenge as the hawk eyed children traffickers are always on the lookout.
“There are several instances where the mothers have lost their children to people who masquerade as well-wishers with good intentions and if not for the street family’s strong network and unity the children could be disappearing in numbers,” she reveals.
The chairman, Mr Charles Opiyo, revealed that any time a child is lost, an alarm is raised across the eight bases in the county and the trafficker is caught before they could cross the borders.
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“We have a very powerful network which works faster than that of the Police. Our members were once instructed to do their job so well that the trafficker is always arrested before they could move out of the city,” he said.
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